The Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (“USERRA”), 38 U.S.C. §§ 4301–4335, not only prohibits discrimination against employees and potential employees based on their military service, it also...more

On February 9, the DOJ announced a $123 million settlement with five national mortgage servicers for allegedly violating sections of the SCRA. Specifically, the DOJ alleges that the mortgage servicers subjected over 900...more

Last week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that mortgage lender NewDay Financial LLC, which specializes in Veterans Administration-backed loans available to military personnel and veterans, had...more

When Congress reenacted the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act (“SCRA”) in 2003, Congress designed the SCRA to balance the interests of active duty servicemembers and their creditors, as it had done under the SCRA’s predecessor...more

A pair of former brokers for Goldman Sachs & Company’s Los Angeles offices earned $7.6 million in monetary awards after filing a wrongful termination and discrimination suit against the company. The men, Chris Barra and Luis...more

On January 15, an Army Reserve sergeant filed a class action suit against a large national bank for allegedly violating the SCRA limitation on a lender’s ability to foreclose on an active duty service member’s property. ...more

The American Bankers Association has sent a letter to the Department of Defense “to alert the Department to shortcomings” in the CFPB’s study entitled “The extension of high-cost credit to servicemembers and their families”...more

Craig Schultz was a drafter for a civilian company that had several buildings located on a large U.S. Air Force base. He drove his personal vehicle onto the base, and was permitted to travel around the base and use military...more

On December 29, the CFPB released a report highlighting its concern that loopholes in the Military Lending Act (MLA) have allowed companies to offer costly credit products to military personnel and their families. The report...more

At the 11th hour (late December, 2014), Congress extended special provisions in the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (SCRA) (50 USC App §§501–597a) that mandate postponement of a foreclosure on a military servicemember's...more

On December 18, the CFPB and the Attorneys General of North Carolina and Virginia announced an enforcement action against three affiliated companies offering credit and financing services to military servicemembers. ...more

On December 29, 2014, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) released a report, entitled “The Extension of High-Cost Credit to Servicemembers and Their Families” (“Report”). According to the CFPB, the Report provides...more

In an effort to build support for the Department of Defense’s proposal to significantly expand Military Loan Act coverage, the CFPB has released a report entitled “The extension of high-cost credit to servicemembers and their...more

On November 25, 2014 the Minister of National Defence, the Honourable Rob Nicholson, P.C., Q.C., announced a new Government of Canada program which will provide financial support to employers of Canadian Armed Forces...more

Because of the way the statute is drafted and how courts have interpreted it, employers of current members of the Armed Forces and veterans can sometimes find themselves with unexpected legal exposure under the Uniformed...more

CFPB Assistant Director for Servicemember Affairs Holly Petraeus has issued a statement applauding changes to the military discretionary allotment system announced last week by the Department of Defense (DoD).
The...more

In an effort to provide additional financial protections to military families, the Department of Defense (DoD) proposed amendments to its regulations that the agency said will “reduce predatory lending practices,...more

On September 29, 2014, the Department of Defense (DOD) published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to amend its regulation implementing the Military Lending Act (MLA), 32 C.F.R. Part 232, to significantly expand the...more

A complicated, but sometimes overlooked, issue facing foreclosing lenders is properly handling and defending against claims that a servicemember-owner is entitled to protections from foreclosure based on his or her status as...more

The CFPB, after an investigation in cooperation with 13 state attorneys general, has entered into a consent order with Colfax Capital Corporation, a California consumer lending company (Colfax), and its wholly-owned...more

On July 23, Delaware Governor Jack Markell signed SB 206, which incorporates federal protections for servicemembers under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act into state law, extends those protections to members of the...more

Veterans’ rights have always been a hot-button political issue, but it took several military conflicts for Congress to confront the employment rights of private sector military veterans. In the wake of Vietnam War, two wars...more

On June 18, in an appearance before the House Financial Services Committee, CFPB Director Richard Cordray stated that later this summer the CFPB hopes to release a white paper on the proxy methodology it employs to identify...more